• by Richard Whitman , Columnist, September 11, 2013

We love this. A new agency, Ayni Brigade, founded by former Eric Mower + Associates employees Mark and Sherry Russell along with retired Marine Corps fighter pilot (and Atmosphere BBDO vet) Brian Hollyfield, aims to staff itself primarily with military veterans. Citing skill-sets such as intelligence gathering, tactical execution and expertise with emerging technology, Russell (Mark) believes former military are perfect for the job. Of the goal, Russell said, "We saw an opportunity in the market to do well by doing good. We applaud the effort but won't this run slightly afoul of labor laws in that it excludes certain people? Hey, we aren't complaining. Just wondering.

When people leave agencies without another gig lined up it either means they've basically been fired or they're rich enough not to need another gig. We can't really confirm or deny either is the case (because no one ever admits to this stuff) with Benjamin Bittman who, after three years, has left Anomoly where he was digital development director. It is said  Bittman "did an outstanding job" and "was a unique talent." Bittman, it seems, will be heading to Italy for a little R&R. 

Native! Native! Native! It's all the rage now these days in advertising circles. Hardly a day goes by without some entity touting the practice's benefits, launching a new product or even a new company. RebelMouse, a company formed a year ago by former Huffington Post CTO Paul Berry, has hired David Spitz who was most recently VP of Strategy and Development at WPP. RebelMouse, which recently launched a native advertising offering that aids publishers in embedding sponsored content into their editorial pages, will charge Spitz with growing the company's native advertising offerings. RebelMouse works with the Wall Street Journal and recently raised $10.25 million in Series A funding from Oak Innvestment Partners and SoftBank Capital.

People come and people go. It's about the only certainly in the advertising business. Oh that and the comings and goings of accounts. Minneapolis ad agency Solve is in the midst of a round of high fives after having won  a slice of the UK-based automotive brand Bentley Motors. The agency will handle the brand's business in North, Central and South America. Of the selection of Solve, Bentley President Christophe Georges said the agency knows “how to deliver at global, national and local levels, as well as how to inspire and support a dealer organization.” Congrats to you, Solve.

You've gotta love when the person who just hired you tells the press “There are few rare talents who understand the importance of integrating technology, UX design, creative, planning, social, media and mobile to deliver and exceed on client expectations - Scartz has a history of aligning these key disciplines for success." In this case, the person doing the saying is R/GA Chicago VP Managing Director Jeff Brecker and the person receiving the praise is Joe Scartz who will take on the role of managing director, client services. Scartz was most recently VP of marketing at Digital BrandWorks.